10 Facebook Messenger Chatbot Marketing Tips to Try Right Now

A chatbot is nothing more than a software application that automates certain business processes. However, in the digital marketing world, they have been recognized as a powerful tool. Companies of all types and sizes across the globe are using chatbots to offer efficient customer care and maintain a healthy relationship with their audience. But, how can you get a head start with this new trend?

Here are some tips in using Facebook Messenger chatbots and the ways you can incorporate it into your marketing strategy:

1. Promote your chatbot

With more businesses jumping in on the chatbot space, the industry is getting more competitive than ever. Launching an optimized chatbot is just the beginning. If you are a startup, you need to give your bot the visibility it needs. Think about the places where your target audience will most likely visit. A great option is to set up the “Send to Messenger”plugins on your website. You can also rely on your Facebook Ads campaign or the Messenger Discovery section.

2. Educate audience about your chatbot

Use your chatbot to help create a solid brand image. Don’t just tell your audience you have a bot, tell them what it is about. Make the interaction memorable. Throughout the conversation, you should be able to answer these questions:

What is the chatbot’s name?

What is its purpose?

When is it available?

What are its functionalities?

Where can it be found?

3. Update the chatbot experience

Chatbots aren’t tools you can just launch and leave. To keep it healthy, it needs continuous review and optimization. One of the best ways to generate a smarter chatbot is to collect feedback from your customers. You can simply incorporate a feedback loop into the bot interaction. Give them the option as to whether or not they’d like to participate. Allow commentary and not only quick-fire ratings.

4. Focus on engagement

Because Messenger bots run on a platform customers use to converse with friends, the experience should be engaging. A common complaint against chatbots is the lack of human touch. To make the conversation sound less robotic, set the tone for your brand. Avoid using technical jargons and keep the language simple. Throw in emojis, jokes, or various forms of media to make the interaction more fun.

5. Personalize the conversation

Personalizing a chatbot can be tricky but it’s a way to make your user feel more valued and understood. Ask yourself what part of the interaction could be personalized. It could be not showing meat dishes to a vegan customer. It could be warning a user to avoid a certain workout because of an injury. Or, giving special offers to regular customers. The key is to program your bot correctly to provide information specific to that user.

6. Reach a wider audience

Facebook Messenger is one of the most popular messaging apps worldwide that is now being used by over 1.3 billion people. Take this advantage to reach a new customer base and open up new opportunities to increase your sales. Tap into new demographics and integrate your bot across multiple messaging apps.

7. Send relevant notifications

Notifications are powerful tools for bots. They are used to re-engage uninterested users and keep active customers. Make sure to send only relevant notifications as customers don’t want to be bombarded with ‘spammy’ content. You can go with product updates such as new feature announcements, deals and discounts, and maintenance messages.

8. Limit the options you give

Chatbot technology is not quite good enough to respond to everything. A way around this is to offer options regarding what the bot can answer. This will give customers the opportunity to choose one of these options. However, you don’t need to mention every product or service you have available. It will only overwhelm the user. Instead, limit options to a maximum of three and maximize engagement.

9. Combine AI with human intelligence

Regardless of how good your bot is, there may still be times when the conversation needs to be escalated to a human. You can’t expect the tool to be perfect. Bots sometimes make mistakes and not know answer to complex questions and issues. In cases like these, you should be able to offer a clear, smooth transition. This way, the experience is not tainted.

10. Use highest level of security

Customer trust brands to keep sensitive information they give out safe. If your chatbot is designed to handle valuable data, then you should have authentication and authorization mechanisms in place. When it comes to Messenger bot data concerns, data is being collected with respondent’s permission and transmitted via secure HTTPS protocols.